Russian MoD: US prevents return of Kurdish-controlled areas under Syrian control

Over 800,000 people have returned to the Syrian city of Aleppo and its suburbs, liberated from the Jabhat al Nusra terrorist group, the Russian Defense Ministry said, and explained how the US is preventing the return of Syrian territories under government control

"The United Sates continues to hamper the arrival of any humanitarian organizations' representatives in Raqqa, not to mention the coordination of the arrival of the UN assessment mission in the city, which should determine the scope of the humanitarian catastrophe and decide on the volume of the emergency humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable population," the statement said.

Over 800,000 people have returned to the Syrian city of Aleppo and its suburbs, liberated from the Jabhat al Nusra terrorist group, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"The province of Aleppo illustrates the efficiency of the work of the Russian reconciliation center for Syria. Over 800,000 people have returned to the city of Aleppo and its suburbs, liberated from Jabhat al Nusra and its affiliated groups, since December 2016. The local authorities provide assistance with housing reconstruction. Markets, shops, schools and medical facilities are working. Agriculture is being actively restored," the statement added.

Additionally, Syrians that left Aleppo and moved to the Idlib province together with fleeing militants in December 2016 had been returning to their homes since March 4, according to Russian military data.

"At least 870 families, a total of 3,409 people, have returned to Aleppo from the Idlib province through a humanitarian corridor, organized by the Iran-Russia-Turkey coordination centre, in the region Tell-Sultan – Abu Duhur," the ministry said.

The statement also specified that the Syrian government forces conduct hostilities against irreconcilable armed groups that harass the local population.

However, a US-formed autonomous government in northern Syria has been preventing civilians from fleeing the war-ravaged city of Raqqa, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

“Authorities formed in Raqqa by the US military from the so-called Democratic Federation of Northern Syria have confined its residents to the districts gutted by the bombs of the US-led coalition, stopping them from going to safer areas in Syria,” the statement read.

The Russian military added only several districts in downtown Raqqa are fit to live in, while most of the city is filled will unexploded bombs and improvised explosive devices, which have already claimed over 500 lives.

Moreover, the United States prevents the delivery of any humanitarian convoys to the Syrian city of Raqqa as well as the arrival of the UN mission that would assess the scope of the humanitarian catastrophe in the region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.